Typically, organizations begin this transformation by taking a long, hard look at the way they run all of their operations and their business processes. The result of this intensive self-analysis is a crystallized focus on the specific elements of the business model-the core competencies-that enable it to deliver a unique value to the customer and create a sustainable competitive advantage.

Benefits Beyond Labor Cost Reduction
In the past, outsourcing was driven by the desire to reduce labor costs in manufacturing, IT, back office operations and other non-core business functions.
What's different today is that reduced labor costs are just one component of the outsourcing value proposition. Companies also experience improvements in efficiency, productivity and quality of work by letting outside operational experts handle business processes. This allows for staffing, technological and financial resources to be re-allocated to "mission critical" core competencies that are focused on generating a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

The result: the organization is more agile, enabling it to respond more quickly to changing internal and external conditions. Additionally, companies will receive the added benefit of industry-standard best practices and the latest technological innovations in the field from experienced service providers.

When all of these benefits are added up, it is easy to understand why senior leaders at many innovative global companies are now talking about "transformative outsourcing." In other words, outsourcing is no longer just a cost reduction tool - it is a powerful way to re-engineer operations and accelerate strategic business transformation. Outsourcing has even led some business experts to speculate that, in the future, the most creative corporations will outsource everything but the most critical functions and tasks.

The Industry Speaks for Itself
Since every enterprise has to manage content and records that are in both hardcopy and digital form, Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is an essential activity today. And they have an important impact on everything from daily operations and risk and records management to knowledge sharing and organizational efficiency. But for the vast majority of businesses, ECM is not "core competency." By definition, then, they represent a potential diversion of resources and attention from the enterprise's "mission critical" activities.